BV 

4647 

.P5 

D53 

1852 


'^),         Filial  Piety  a  Blessing:  Its  Opposite  a  Curse.  i% 


A  SERMON 


DEUVKEED  IV 


THE  TRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  F  STREET, 


WASHINGTON  CITY,  MARCH  7,  1S52. 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  M.  DICKEY,  D.  D., 

OF  OXFORD,  PA. 


WASHINGTON:   ' 

I  PRINTED  BY   KIRKWOOD   &  McGILL.  ofq 

'I  2 

'  1852.  ^^ 


.^i£.«n^S:^3* ^^^t^m 


<i^»TO?^.. 


Fil-cl  Piety  a  riecsing:  Its  Opposite  a  Curse. 


A  SERMON 


rrLITEEED  IS 


THE  rPiESBYTEEIATs^  CHUECH,  E  STEiEET, 


WASHINGTON  CITY,  MAECH  7,  1852. 


BY  THE  REV.  J.  BI.  DICKEY,  D.  D., 


OF  OXFORD,   PA. 


WASIIINGTOTT: 

PRINTED   BY    Kl  UK  WOOD   &,   McCILL. 


1862. 


CUL^Xl^^ 


/ 


Washington,  March  22,  1852. 
Reverend  and  Dear  Sir  :  A  number  of  young  men  who  had  the  pleasure  of 
listening  to  your  most  excellent  discourse  on  Sabbath  morning,  the  7th  of  this 
month,  from  Proverbs  xx.  17,  desire  to  obtain  a  copy  for  publication.  This 
request  is  made  from  a  firm  conviction  that  its  circulation  will  result  in  much 
good,  by  calling  attention  to  and  enforcing  a  lesson  so  deserving  particular  at- 
tention. 

By  complying  with  this  request,  you  will  greatly  oblige 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

W.  H.  F.  GURLEY, 
S.  W.  K.  HANDY, 
ROBT.  M.  PATTERSON, 

AND  Others. 


Oxford,  March  Tl,  1852. 
Gentlemen  :  Your  favor  of  the  22d  inst.  I  have  just  received,  and  would  say, 
in  answer,  that  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  comply  with  your  request.     The  im- 
portance of  the  subject  may  compensate  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  sermon. 
Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c., 

JOHN  M.  DICKEY. 
To  Messrs.  W.  11.  F.  Gcrlet,  S.  M.  K.  Handy,  Robt.  M.  Patterson,  and 
others. 


SEimON. 


PROVERBS,  XXX.  17. 

"THE  EVE  THAT  XKX.'KETH  AT  HIS  FATHEK,  AND  DESPISETH  TO  OBEY  HIS  MOTHER, 
THE  RAVENS  01'  THE  VALLEY  SHALL  PICK  IT  OUT,  AND  THE  YOUNO  EAGLES  SHALL 
EAT  IT." 

This  passage  of  Scripture  may  be  considered  as  set  over  against 
another  which  is  found  in  Exodus  xx.  12,  as  Mount  Ebal  was 
set  over  against  Mount  Gerizim — the  one  containing  the  curse, 
the  other  the  blessing.  It  is  here  said  that  he  who  shall  mock 
at  and  despise  parental  instruction  and  authority  shall  die  the 
death  of  the  outcast ;  he  shall  die  while  he  is  yet  young,  his  eye 
full,  and  his  limbs  not  shrunken,  offering  food  for  the  eagle  and 
vulture.  It  is  implied,  also,  that  he  shall  die  alone,  with  no 
friends  near  to  drive  from  him  the  birds  of  prey;  and  that  he 
shall  have  no  burial,  but  be  exposed  above  the  ground,  unsightly 
and  loathsome.  In  the  dark  and  silent  valley,  where  the  raven 
flaps  her  wing  over  the  carcass ;  under  the  shadow  of  the  moun- 
tain, where  the  eagle  seeks  her  food — there,  the  poor  outcast 
from  friends  and  home  shall  lie  down  to  die ;  he  shall  have  no 
mourner  and  no  monument.  A  strong  case  is  stated,  and  set 
forth  in  glowing  Eastern  language ;  but  who  will  say  that  the 
case  has  not  actually  occurred,  or  that  the  description  at  all  ex- 
ceeds the  reality  ? 

But  look  at  the  other  side  of  the  picture ;  hear  the  voice  from 
Mount  Gerizim:  "Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy 
days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 


thee."  A  dutiful  and  obodlent  child  shall  live  to  a  ripe  old  ftge. 
The  land  of  Cana:in,  that  "good  land,"  shall  be  his  portion. 
His  eye,  beaming  with  kindasjs,  tho  raven  shall  not  pick  out. 
He  shall  have  honor  on  earth,  and  a  place  in  heaven.  Our  sub- 
ject, then,  is  sufficiently  clear — the  evil  consequences  of  rejecting 
'parental  government  and  instru'^tion.  A  few  things  it  is  neces- 
eary  to  premise  before  these  evil  consequences  are  stated.  The 
harshness  expressed  in  the  text  is  designed  to  guard  against  the 
consequences;  and  certainly  those  who  arc  parents  must  feel  a 
deep  interest  iu  the  subject. 

1st.  There  are  three  oi'dcrs  or  kinds  of  government  in  tho 
world — the  Divine,  the  Civil,  and  the  Parental — embracing  three 
societies — the  Church,  the  State,  and  the  Family, — all  ordained 
of  God,  all  essential  to  the  happiness  of  men,  all  established  at 
the  creation  of  our  race,  and  the  last  as  important  as  either  of 
the  others,  preliminary  to  them  in  a  measure,  and  designed  for  a 
particular  class — for  the  young.  Connected  with  this,  we  would 
remark,  farther,  that  there  is  a  period  on  which  the  whole  future 
life  depends,  a  period  over  which  civil  law  docs  not  profess  to 
assume  much  control — the  period  of  minority;  short,  it  is  true, 
in  itself,  but  almost  equal  to  the  average  life  of  man — the  average 
life  being  thirty,  ^nd  the  time  of  minority  twenty-one — a  periud  in 
which  the  law  of  Go^l  even  is  not  fully  known,  when  its  power  is 
not  fully  felt  upon  the  heart,  and  during  which  that  law  must  bo 
taught.  There  are,  in  thii  period,  no  fixed  principles  or  habits; 
there  is  an  incapacity  for  self-government;  there  is  no  strength 
of  purpose,  no  sternness  of  resolution.  It  is  a  period  in  which 
a  visible  eye  is  needed  as  a  watcher,  as  well  as  the  unseen  eye  of 
Jehovah.  For  this  period,  the  instruction  of  the  family  is  pro- 
vided— the  sanctuary  of  Home.  God  has  ordained  the  house- 
hold for  this  period,  not  only  sheltering  our  cradle  and  gathering 
us  in  youthful  years  to  its  fireside,  but  long  after,  with  its  tutors 


and  governors,  our  school,  our  refuge,  until  education  is  complete. 
All  through  the  early  period  of  life,  when  the  world  is  new,  and 
when  incxpeiicnce,  fickleness,  and 'wild  passions  toss  the  adven- 
turers to  and  fro  upon  a  stormy  ocean,  threatening  them  every 
moment  with  wreck,  where  is  the  hand  tliat  should  reach  forth  to 
rescue  them,  if  not  that  of  a  parent?  God  has  most  graciously 
and  beautifully  grouped  the  inhabitiints  of  tlic  world  together 
to  attain  this  end:  the  gray  locks  of  the  old  man  shadowing 
the  golden  rino-lets  of  the  grandchild;  the  venerable  mother 
teaching,  from  the  Scriptures,  sons  and  daughters  never  too  old 
to  learn  from  such  lips ;  experience  teaching  inexperience  in  the 
beginning  of  life ;  the  impetuous  and  rash  restrained  by  the  gentle 
and  firm  government  of  more  mature  years. 

2d.  The  existence  of  certain  obligations  supposes  the  existence 
of  certain  rights.  If  this  hold  good  in  other  respects,  it  hokb 
good  here.  If  parents  have  duties,  and  the  young  have  advan- 
tages growing  out  of  those  duties,  then  the  parents  are  invested 
with  privi!eg3s  corresponding  to  the  duties.  They  are  God's 
officers,  and  are  clothed  with  nuthority.  He  sustains  and  protects 
them,  both  in  their  persons  and  in  their  offices.  He  has  thrown 
a  defence  around  them,  in  sacredness,  second  only  to  that  around 
Deity  itself;  and  the  hand  which  is  lifted  to  touch  a  parent, 
except  in  honor,  almost  touches  God.  We  are  commanded  to 
rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  we  are  admonished  by  the 
punishment  of  the  mockers  of  Elisha.  There  is  due  to  them  honor 
and  reverence.  Their  superior  knowledge,  their  more  advanced 
age,  their  responsibility  in  regard  to  the  young,  demand  it. 
They  are  the  source  of  our  being ;  and  for  this  reason  should  be 
treated  with  respect.  They  also  claim  our  gratitude.  What  have 
they  not  done  for  us  in  infancy,  in  sickness,  and  in  distress? 
They  have  sheltered  us  by  exposing  themselves  to  suffering,  and 
in  many  instances  would  have  died  to  save  us.     Their  affections 


6 

are  garnered  up  in  their  children.  It  was  not  the  Roman  mother 
only  ^'.lio  could  say  that  they  are  her  jewels  and  her  pride. 
You  cannot  know,  but  by  experience,  their  anxiety  on  your 
account.  In  her  growing  dependance  and  helplessness,  what  so 
beautiful  as  the  strong  arm  of  the  son  supporting  the  steps  of 
the  feeble  mother !  She  may  have  wealth  to  purchase  such 
attentions,  but  no  stranger's  hand  is  so  grateful.  While  a  son's 
hand  smooths  the  pillow  for  the  head,  affection  soothes  the  heart. 
If  ever  love  might  claim  love,  that  of  a  mother  should  claim  it 
from  a  son.  There  is  also  due  to  them  obedience.  They  are 
commanded  to  rule  their  household.  If  this  is  expected  of  them — 
and  God  will  call  them  to  account  for  the  performance  of  their 
duty — surely  it  is  the  duty  of  those  who  compose  that  household 
to  obey.  We  will  not  discuss  the  question  how  long  they  are  to 
obey,  or  to  Avhat  extent,  or  by  what  means  submission  is  to  be 
enforced.  We  speak  only  to  your  reason  and  to  your  affections ; 
and  if  you  follow  them  in  this,  they  will  not  lead  you  far  astray. 

Again,  their  instructions  should  be  received,  and  their  wishes 
complied  with.  We  have  a  Divine  example  of  filial  reverence 
and  love  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  all  through  his  life  on  earth, 
and  while  on  the  cross,  when  He  said  to  John,  "  Behold  thy 
mother!"  To  Mary,  the  Son  of  God  gave  reverence  and  love. 
There  may  be  those  disposed  to  give  to  Mary  idolatrous  worship 
as  the  "Mother  of  God,"  who  refuse,  in  their  own  case,  after 
Christ's  example,  to  give  to  a  mother  honor  for  her  love  and 
kindness. 

3d.  The  young  are  in  great  danger  of  committing  the  sin 
which  is  spoken  of  in  the  text.  The  pulse  of  early  life  beats 
wildly,  and  the  spirit  is  then  impatient  of  control.  I  have  known 
a  mother  say  of  a  daughter  advancing  to  womanhood,  "Would 
she  were  again  an  infant  in  my  cradle,  or  upon  my  bosom !"  The 
young,  then,  have  the  most  need  of  instruction  and  restraint,  and 


the  least  disposition  to  receive  them.  They  are  passing  the 
rapids  in  their  perilous  voyage  of  life,  and  a  steady  hand  is 
needed  at  the  helm,  for  they  feel  not  their  danger.  We  have 
just  passed,  as  we  hope,  through  a  period  of  danger  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  our  country.  A  spirit  of  insubordination  and  of 
unwillingness  to  submit  to  law  has  tried  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  and,  we  thank  God,  our  flag  is  safe.  But  yet  this 
spirit,  we  may  say,  is  the  spirit  of  our  age — we  will  not  say  of 
our  country.  We  do  believe,  however,  that  the  reverence  for 
parental  authority  is  Aveaker  among  our  people  than  ever  before, 
and  weaker  in  our  land  than  in  any  other  land  where  it  is  at  all 
felt.  Indeed,  it  would  seem  as  if  that  portion  of  the  table  of  stone 
upon  which  God's  finger  inscribed  the  fifth  commandment  had 
been  broken  ojQT,  and  fallen  upon  some  other  continent  than  this. 
Heathen  as  they  are,  they  seem  to  know  more  of  it  in  China 
than  we  do ;  and  who  can  tell  but  that  a  large  measure  of  their 
prosperity  and  perpetuity  has  been  owing  to  their  faithfulness  in 
this  duty? 

Will  my  friends  who  are  here  bear  with  me  Avhile  I  advert  to 
a  few  facts,  more  fully  illustrating  our  subject?  "The  eye  that 
mocketh."  It  is  done  with  the  eye.  It  is  not  presumed  that 
there  is  gross  violence ;  it  is  not  even  said  that  the  language  is 
improper ;  it  never  passes  further  than  the  eye ;  and  Ave  will  not 
press  the  words  of  the  text  bej^ond  their  literal  construction.  It  is 
done,  again,  with  the  heart:  "■despiseth  to  ol)ey."  It  is  rather 
the  not  doing  Avhat  is  desired  than  doing  anything  in  opposition. 
The  opinions  of  parents  are  not  treated  with  proper  respect; 
they  are  regarded  as  foolish  or  antiquated ;  they  will  do  very 
well  for  persons  advanced  in  life,  but  not  for  the  young !  These 
cannot  see  why  they  should  receive  them  with  more  respect  than 
the  opinions  of  other  persons.  It  matters  not  upon  what  subject 
the  opinion  may  be  expressed — whether  on  the  subject  of  religion, 


8 

or  the  arrangement  of  business,  or  even  on  matters  of  the  most 
trivial  kind.  Sometimes  vre  are  pained  to  see  that  persons,  long 
members  of  the  church,  and  high  in  public  confidence,  are  every- 
where regarded  with  respect  but  by  those  who  sit  round  their 
own  table.  A  teacher's  opinions  should  be  reverently  received; 
and  parents  are  seldom  treated  as  they  should  be  in  this  respect. 
The  society  of  parents  is  often  avoided.  It  is  not  to  the  taste  of 
the  young;  hence  their  evenings  arc  not  spent  at  home.  They 
seek  amusement  among  those  of  their  OAvn  age;  they  seek  it  in 
the  club-room  or  at  the  theatre,  and  they  lose  in  this  way  the 
advantage  to  be  gained  by  intercourse  wiJi  those  who  have  ex- 
perience, and  so  sin  against  the  arrangement  of  God's  providence. 
Tiie  young  often  deceive  tleir  parents,  and  impose  upon  their 
credaloas  pai  tiality,  as  to  their  expenditures,  associates,  and  em- 
ployment of  time.  A  young  man  told  me,  a  short  time  ago,  that 
he  had  incurred  a  debt,  years  before,  when  at  college,  and  that 
he  had  been  suficiing  ever  since  from  constant  fear  of  exposure, 
and  from  the  compunctious  of  conscience,  over  an  error  which  he 
T.-as  still  unwilling  to  confess.  AVe  say,  keep  no  secret  from  a 
mother,  especially  if  she  be  a  child  of  God. 

The  young  are  sometimes  ashamed  to  honor  tlieir  pare  its  if  they 
arc  igao;ant  or  poor.  This  is  certainly  the  "mocking  eye."  A 
refasii.1  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  parents  in  the  matter  of 
atitenJance  upon  leligious  duties  is  to  mock  at  God;  and  to  mock 
at  religious  Avorship  in  which  a  parent  is  interested,  kills  the  heart. 
Many  parents  die  from  anxiety  on  account  of  children  who  go  away 
from  homo.  The  children  are  careless  about  giving  intelligence 
of  their  comfort  and  happiness,  and  thus  cause  those  who  love  them 
most  to  pine  away,  unuer  the  apprehension  that  they  are  in  dis- 
tress. Lastly,  there  is  sometimes  a  Avant  of  tenderness  towards  the 
infirmities  and  Aveakncases  of  parents,  den^^ing  that  attention  which 
is  necessary  for  their  support,  making  no  requital  for  years  of 


tenderness  spent  in  ministering  toi  the  wants  of  their  children. 
I  trust  such  instances  are  rare. 

This  brings  us  to  the  evil  consequences  flowing  from  such  con- 
duct. "We  have,  in  these  three  preliminary  remarks,  prominently 
set  forth — 1st.  That  there  is  a  parental  government  as  cci'tainly 
ordained  by  God  as  the  government  of  the  Church  or  of  the 
State  ;  2d.  That  parents  are  invested  by  God  with  certain  oflices, 
duties,  and  privileges ;  and  3d.  That  the  young  are  in  great 
danger  of  committing  the  sin  spoken  of  in  the  text. 

Now,  we  ask,  as  involving  the  consequences  of  this  conduct, 
why  so  many  of  our  youi'ig  men  die  early,  failing  of  the  promise  of 
cither  long  life  or  prosperity,  and  even  literally  meeting  the  end  of 
the  outcast,  with  hopes  blasted  for  this  Avoild,  and  a  cloud,  at 
least,  thrown  over  the  anticipations  of  the  next  ?  Do  not  regard 
me  as  saying  that  no  yoimg  men  who  are  truly  pious  and  beloved 
of  God  die  early.  They  are  sometimes  taken  from  the  evil  to 
come.  The  rule,  like  every  other  rule,  has  its  exceptions ;  btit 
still  we  must  regard  the  fact  as  an  appalling  one,  that  multitudes 
of  young  men  are  brought  to  an  untimely  end.  Noble  eflbi ts  arc 
made  to  reclaim  them  from  intemperance,  to  give  them  insti no- 
tion, to  win  them  over  to  religion  and  vii  tue.  Appeals  are  made 
to  their  honor  and  worldly  hopes,  and  yet  they  die  in  multitudes 
while  young.  You  may  know  the  history  of  families  in  this  city, 
as  I  know  the  history  of  faraihes  in  other  places.  As  the  reaper 
makes  broad  lanes  in  the  ripe  grain  fields ;  as  the  grape-shot  from 
the  cannon's  mouth  opens  avenues  through  the  ranks  of  a  living 
army,  so  the  silent  reaper  is  cutting  down  multitudes  of  young 
men.  We  strive,  by  all  means,  to  bring  them  to  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  but,  of  the  whole  number,  a  remnant  only  is  saved. 
Now,  since  God  gives  life  and  prosperity,  and  we  can  derive  them 
from  no  other  source — if  we  find  one  particular  statute  which  has 
attached  to  it  this  promise,  and  a  violation  of  the  statute  involves 


10 

the  particular  penalty  of  the  text — and  if  we  find  that  multitudes 
of  young  men  do  die  prematurely, — may  we  not  reasonably  con- 
clude that  it  is  because  this  statute  is  not  regarded  ?  Would  God 
be  true  if  one  of  his  laws  revealed  from  Sinai  be  disregarded, 
and  no  punishment  follow?  May  not  war  with  all  its  desola- 
ting horrors,  may  not  intoxication,  with  all  its  consequences,  be 
but  the  instruments  of  judgment,  sent  by  God  to  punish  men  for 
trampling  upon  this  statute,  and  insnlting  his  authority?  Can  a 
young  person  prosper,  can  he  hope  for  long  life,  who  tramples  upon 
a  parent's  heart  ?  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Hell  answer.  No  !  Can  a 
young  person  prosper  who  throws  away  all  the  influences  of  home, 
who  refuses  all  the  instruction  and  authority  of  experience,  mocking 
at  the  counsel  of  parents,  and  following  his  own  unrestrained  will  ? 
If  there  be  order  in  nature,  if  there  be  a  plan  in  God's  providence, 
if  there  be  truth  in  the  Almighty,  death  and  wo  will  follow  the 
breaking  loose  from  these  bonds. 

I  have  heard  the  venerable  Dr.  Mason,  of  New  York,  an  old 
preceptor — and  there  are  none  who  can  give  testimony  to  the 
w^orth  of  the  authority  better  than  the  two  pastors  of  this  con- 
gregation*— remark,  that  a  Highlander  was  seen  on  the  thresh- 
hold  of  his  cabin,  dragging  an  aged  father  by  his  locks.  He 
was  reproved  for  his  brutality,  but  the  dying  man  rebuked  the 
reproof,  saying,  "Just  so  far  as  to  this  threshhold  I  dragged  my 
aged  father,  and  so  far  has  God,  in  his  retribution,  permitted  my 
son  to  drag  me." 

The  Apostle,  when  he  speaks  of  murderers  of  fathers  and 
murderers  of  mothers,  may  mean  others  than  those  who  commit 
the  acts  by  instruments  of  steel.  God's  judgment  is  retributive 
judgment.  The  very  means  provided  and  neglected,  and  the  train- 
ing for  such  a  life,  prove  to  us  that  there  can  be  no  other  conse- 
quences than  those  which  the  text  speaks  of  as  the  sure  reward. 

*  Dps.  Laurie  and  Junkin. 


11 

A  second  consequence :  Why  are  so  few  young  persons,  espe- 
cially young  men,  converted?  The  great  thing  at  which  all 
who  come  into  this  world  ought  to  aim,  is  to  be  born  again. 
To  live  and  be  prosperous  here — this  we  have  spoken  of;  the 
more  important  is  to  live  and  be  blessed  above.  For  either  of 
these,  all  who  are  born  again  have  a  bias  and  a  disposition 
before  they  pass  out  of  their  minority;  and,  if  they  are  eventually 
lost,  they  are  confirmed  in  habits  of  sin,  and  utterly  ruined,  be- 
fore they  pass  this  period.  This  fact  need  not  be  proved ;  it  would 
be  an  insult  to  your  good  sense  and  observation  to  stop  to  estab- 
lish it.  Upon  the  training  during  that  period,  for  which  the 
family  instruction  and  influence  are  provided,  the  whole  destiny 
in  many  cases  depends.  May  we  not  even  say,  that  "the  eye  that 
mocketh  at  his  father"  shall  not  see  God?  He  Avho  hateth  his 
brother,  much  more  his  parents,  whom  he  hath  seen,  how  can  he 
love  God,  Avhom  he  hath  not  seen?  Submission  to  parental  au- 
thority, and  teachers,  and  family  government  in  early  life  is  the 
surest  precursor  of  submission  to  God.  A  disobedient  son  will 
not  be  likely  to  be  converted.  What  is  the  reason  why  there  is 
such  a  stable  government  in  Scotland,  and  so  general  a  regard 
to  the  authority  of  Heaven,  and  the  reverse  of  this  in  France? 
Personal  inspection  would  lead  those  who  make  the  investigation 
concerning  this  matter  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  because  Scot- 
land has  homes,  household,  parental  government,  and  instruction, 
and  France  has  none.  We  must  first  say,  "I  will  arise  and  go 
to  my  father,"  ere  we  will  take  our  journey  back  to  God.  Give 
us  the  son  who  has  been  dutiful  to  his  parents  at  home,  or  to  his 
family  bound  by  those  golden  chains  which  encircle  it,  and  in  his 
ear  we  may  hope  successfully  to  speak  of  his  Father  in  Heaven, 
and  of  his  Son  whom  He  sent  to  save  the  world ;  to  such  a  one  we 
may,  with  confidence  and  hope,  repeat  the  story  of  the  cross. 

La&tly,  the  training  of  the  family  is  necessary  to  form,  in  all 


12 

respects,  the  character  and  virtues  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 
Look  at  the  composition  of  the  family:  the  stern  yet  tender 
father;  the  self-denying  and  gentle  mother;  the  kind  and  affec- 
tionate brother;  and  the  loving  sister,  so  mild  and  dependant. 
It  is  almost  heaven  on  earth.  What  is  there  to  form  character 
that  is  not  here?  ]\Iock  not  at  these  things;  if  you  do,  you 
mock  at  God's  institution! 

lie  ^vho?c  youth  is  spent  at  a  boarding-house,  where  there  is 
no  interest  beyond  that  "which  is  mercenary,  and  his  evenings  at 
at  a  club-room,  mny  have  a  merry  life,  but  it  will  be  a  short  one. 
He  who  is  trained  in  the  counting-room  may  become  a  rich  man, 
but  he  will  be  a  se]flt^h  one.  He  who  is  trained  altogether  in  a 
college  study  may  be  learned,  but  he  will  not  be  useful.  God's 
government,  in  every  institution,  meets  our  wants. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say  to  the  young  of  both  sexes.  Have 
you  a  home?  Be  not  in  haste  to  leave  it.  You  may  have, but 
one,  and  may  sigh  over  the  deserted  hearthstone  long  after  its  in- 
mates have  been  scattered,  never  to  meet  again  on  earth.  You 
go  into  temptation  when  you  leave  it,  and  you  need  its  influence 
in  this  cold,  unfriendly  world.  Have  you  parents? — cherish 
them ;  never  give  them,  by  your  conduct,  an  unnecessary  pang. 
They  are  your  best  friends.  Yield  kindly  to  their  authority  and 
instruction,  even  after  your  childliood  is  over.  Crod  will  not  pass- 
it  by.  Obey  for  His  sake  who  has  interests  for  you  beyond  this 
life.  They  are  His  representatives  here.  Do  your  parents  act 
unworthily?  Oh!  mock  them  not!  Remember  Ham,  and  sec 
the  far-reaching,  indelible  character  of  his  curse.  Is  a  father  or 
mother  dead  ?  Remember  their  instructions ;  cherish  the  thoughts 
of  their  kindness.  When  you  see  the  wrinkled  brow  and  wasting 
form  of  a  living  parent,  remember  that  they  are  passing  away. 
Are  you  going  to  a  strange  place  ?  Go  not  without  a  letter  of 
introduction,  and  seek  a  kind  adviser  where  your  lot  is  cast. 


13 

There  are  pastors  of  churches,  and  good  men,  in  every  city  and 
in  every  country  place  of  our  broad  land,  under  Avhosc  shelter 
and  protection  the  young  may  be  placed. 

You  may  say  this  is  all  ^vcll ;  but  that  the  great  object  we  have 
in  view  is  to  bring  about  the  conversion  of  the  heart.  I  have 
little  faith  in  those  conversions  which  arc  not  founded  on  a  true 
basis;  I  have  little  faith  that  any  will  be  good  ^citizens,  under  our 
civil  government,  who  have  not  been  well  trained  in  their  family 
relations;  and  I  have  but  little  faith  that  any  will  be  brought  to 
God  who  have  despised,  rejected,  and  cast  from  them  the  au- 
thority, instruction,  and  influences  of  home. 

May  God,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  and  for  Christ's  sake,  grant 
His  blessing,  so  that  our  households  may.  be  types  of  the  great 
household  above !    Amen  I 


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